The present invention relates generally to movable gear drives and specifically to a movable gear drive capable of operating a plurality of separate actuators in conjunction with a windshield wiper drive assembly in an automotive vehicle.
Almost all automotive vehicles have a single or a pair of windshield wiper assemblies. These assemblies traditionally include rubber wiper blades mounted upon claw brackets. These claw brackets are attached to wiper arms mounted upon rotating shafts. These shafts are either directly driven by electric motors or driven by a single electric motor which actuates series or parallel-coupled four-bar linkage mechanisms.
It is also common to employ a window wiper assembly for cleaning rear windows of automotive vehicles. Typically, these types of rear window wiper assemblies include a wiper blade mounted upon a bracket which is coupled to a wiper arm. The wiper arm is attached to a wiper shaft rotatably driven in a cyclical oscillating manner by a helical gear. A reversible, fractional horsepower, dc electric motor serves to actuate the helical gear through an armature shaft mounted worm gear enmeshed therewith. This type of rear window wiper arrangement is usually mounted upon a pivoting liftgate or tailgate of a mini van, station wagon, sport-utility vehicle or the like. Examples of conventional window wiper assemblies and motor mechanisms are disclosed within the following U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,039 entitled "Windshield Wiper Motor" which issued to Isii on Jan. 9, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,398 entitled "Driving Device for Window Wiper of Motor Vehicles" which issued to Heinrich on Nov. 7, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,482 entitled "Rear Window Wiper Motor Control" which issued to Goertler et al. on Jun. 22, 1982; U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,624 entitled "Arrangement for Wiping a Vehicle Window" which issued to Seibicke on Mar. 31, 1981; U.S. Pat. No. 3,694,723 entitled "Motor Vehicle Windshield Wiper Having a Parking Position Outside the Wiper Area" which issued to Schneider et al. on Sep. 26, 1972; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,772 entitled "Windshield Wiper Motor Link Depressed Park Mechanism" which issued to Beard et al. on May 30, 1972. All of these patents are incorporated by reference herewithin.
Some conventional vehicles also provide a rear window release latch, actuated by a solenoid, which can be unlatched to allow for upward pivotal movement of the rear window in relation to the otherwise stationary liftgate. In combination therewith, a separate liftgate lock is often mounted upon the liftgate door for fastening the liftgate to the body to prevent inadvertent pivotal opening. The liftgate lock is traditionally operated by manual key or handle rotation, or through a separate electric motor or solenoid.
Additionally, separate motors and solenoids are required to actuate passenger door locks, antenna retraction mechanisms, headlamp cover retraction mechanisms, fuel filler door locks and other similar functions. The traditional need for such a multiplicity of electromagnetic devices has increased the automotive vehicle weight and cost while further proving difficult to package within the often small spaces provided. This added weight is specially detrimental when the window wiper mechanism, rear window latch and liftgate lock, as well as their distinct respective electromagnetic devices, are all incorporated within the pivoting liftgate. Not only is the piece cost increased due to this multiplicity of electromagnetic devices, but the assembly cost, part number proliferation and handling cost, electrical wiring cost, objectional motor noise, and failure modes are increased.